The Piper PA-16 Clipper was a pioneering four-seat family aircraft that demonstrated how affordable personal aviation could be achieved through innovative design economics. First flown in 1949, it was a high-wing, single-engine monoplane powered by a 115-horsepower Lycoming engine and capable of carrying four occupants. With a cruise speed of 117 mph and priced at just $2,995, the Clipper cost nearly half what competing four-seat aircraft demanded. Spanning 29 feet with fabric construction over a steel tube fuselage, all 736 examples were manufactured by Piper Aircraft Company during a single production year.
View in Encyclopedia| HEX CODE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOUNTAIN AIR | 1949 | 16-689 | WY | A918B8 |